Negotiating International Partnerships: The NOAA Perspective

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Negotiating International Partnerships The
NOAA Perspective
D. Brent Smith Chief, International and
Interagency Affairs NOAA Satellite and
Information Service George Mason University
Short Course on The USG Space Sector October
16, 2008
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Rationale for International Cooperation

• Agencies and nations cannot go it alone
• Clear value in leveraging partners to address
  observation gaps and reduce duplication of
  effort
• Cost-sharing a key factor given high cost of
  satellites instruments, platform, launch,
  ground segment, data processing and utilization
• Force multiplier effect allows partners to
  capitalize on each others strengths
• Essential in addressing global requirements
• Value of reciprocal data access/data sharing
• Directly linked to active NOAA/USG involvement
  and policy leadership in international
  coordination mechanisms

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NOAA International Partnerships What Has Worked

• Foreign instrument contributions to POES and
  GOES UK (AMSU-B), EUMETSAT
  (MHS), France (Argos), Search and
  Rescue Satellite System
• EUMETSAT provides Metop to NPOESS partnership in
  NOAA/EUMETSAT Interim Joint Polar System
• ADEOS-1 and -2 (NASDA/JAXA, NASA, CNES)
• RADARSAT-1 (CSA, NASA, NOAA)
• INSAT Data Access (IMD, ISRO, NOAA, NASA)
• Retired GOES-10 satellite repositioned to
  transmit data to South America
• Operationalized GEONETCast global environmental
  information dissemination system
• Jason-2 (NASA, NOAA, CNES, EUMETSAT)

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NOAA Bilateral/Multilateral Cooperation
Opportunities

• Jason-3 and follow-on missions NOAA/EUMETSAT
  and TBD other partners providing operational
  altimetry continuity
• Follow-on Joint Polar System cooperation with
  EUMETSAT e.g. potential hyperspectral sounder
  cooperation
• GCOM with JAXA Potential U.S. advanced
  scatterometer on GCOM-W-2 AMSR-2 and SGLI would
  complement NPOESS MIS and VIIRS
• Ocean Surface Vector Winds cooperation with ISRO
  and EUMETSAT, and Ocean Color with ISRO, other
  TBD partners
• NOAA and NASA invited to participate on ESA/JAXA
  EarthCAREs Mission Advisory Group
• Continued Argos cooperation with CNES
• Interest in RADARSAT-C cooperation with CSA, NASA
  and USGS
• Exploring expanded cooperation with CONAE and
  INPE

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Potential Impediments to NOAA International
Cooperation Efforts

• Funding constraints/synchronization challenges
  among partners (differing budget cycles)
• National approval process constraints (C-175
  delays)
• Institutional/systemic constraints (ITAR, NOAA
  budget approval/appropriations process)
• Predisposition against cooperation (preference of
  one or more key decision makers for
  autonomyChinas State Oceanic Administration)
• Divergence in data policies, as with differences
  in public benefit versus commercial orientation
  (RADARSAT-2, ENVISAT SAR)

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Earth Observation Bilateral and Multilateral
Partnerships That Havent Worked

• Proposed merger of SPOT and Landsat (1989
  discussions)
• NASA/ESA Polar Platform cooperation (vs.
  NOAA/EUMETSAT POES and NPOESS cooperation)
• NASA and NOAA access to ENVISAT Synthetic
  Aperture Radar data (vs. NASA and NOAA access to
  ESA ERS-1 and -2 SAR data)

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International Coordination Mechanisms

• 1972- Coordination Group for Meteorological
  Satellites (CGMS)
• (key technical group, initially geostationary,
  now broader focus)
• 1984- Committee on Earth Observation Satellites
  (CEOS)
• 1986-1996 International Coordination Working
  Group (ICWG) of the Space Station Partners
  (disbanded by mutual agreement)
• 1998-2008 Integrated Global Observing Strategy
  (IGOS)
• (resulting IGOS Themes integrated into GEO
  Communities of Practice structure)
• 2000- International Charter on Space and Major
  Disasters
• (NOAA and USGS participate not allowed by State
  Department to formally sign Charter)
• 2000- World Meteorological Organization
  Consultative Meetings on High-Level Policy on
  Satellite Matters (annual meeting research space
  agencies invited to join operational agencies
  linked to WMO Space Program)
• 2003- Group on Earth Observations (GEO) an
  intergovernmental mechanism established on a
  long-term basis in 2005 USGEO coordinates U.S.
  participation

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Global Earth ObservationSystem of Systems

• Group on Earth Observations (GEO) is coordinating
  international efforts to build a comprehensive,
  coordinated and sustained Global Earth
  Observation System of Systems (GEOSS).
• Emerging public infrastructure interconnecting a
  diverse and growing array of instruments and
  systems for monitoring and forecasting changes in
  the global environment
• A system of systems to support policymakers,
  resource managers, science researchers and many
  other experts and decision makers
• Periodic review of progress through
  Ministerial-level Summits
• 2008 G8 Heads of State Summit declared intention
  to accelerate efforts within GEOSS

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Global Earth ObservationSystem of Systems
(GEOSS)Earth Observation Summits

• EOS I July 2003, Washington
• 34 Members EC 20 International Organizations
  inaugurated GEO concept
• EOS II April 2004, Tokyo
• 47 Members EC 26 International Organizations
• EOS III February 2005, Brussels
• Nearly 60 Members EC 34 International
  Organizations
• 10-Year Implementation Plan
• EOS IV November 2007, Cape Town
• 73 Members EC 46 International Organizations
• Identified early GEO results and Work Plan task
  implementation
• IGOS Themes incorporated into GEOSS

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Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS)

• 28 Member and 20 Associate agencies and
  organizations
• Best efforts / voluntary organization
• Represents international EO satellite community
• NOAA chairs CEOS Strategic Implementation Team
• As space arm of GEOSS, CEOS and its Agencies are
  now pursuing actionable actions and seeking to
  achieve demonstrated results with a clear set of
  near-term priorities in addressing GEO Tasks
• CEOS Virtual Constellations for GEO a
  range/number of satellites, which if coordinated
  through a partnership have potential for
  contributing to a measurable goal in addressing
  key observational gaps and bridging multiple GEO
  Societal Benefit Areas. Independence of
  individual contributions can be maintained
• CEOS and its Agencies are also pursuing 59
  Climate Actions in support of Global Climate
  Observing System (GCOS) implementation,
  reportable to the UN Framework Climate Change
  Convention (UNFCCC)

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CEOS Virtual Constellations
Current Prototype CEOS Virtual Constellations
New Virtual Constellations Proceeding into
Implementation
Ocean Color Radiometry (OCR)
Ocean Surface Vector Winds (OSVW)
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Summary

• NOAA has benefited greatly through leveraging of
  international partnerships (ranging from space
  segment collaboration to data sharing)
• Funding constraints and other impediments must be
  overcome if key near-term international
  cooperation opportunities are to be realized
• Building on their roles in founding key EO
  international coordination mechanisms, it is
  important that NOAA and other USG Agencies
  maintain U.S. policy leadership in further
  helping to shape the global EO system (e.g. full
  and open data sharing)
• CEOS Constellations and coordinating space agency
  commitments show promise in achieving GEOSS and
  UNFCCC implementation goals
• Key opportunities likely exist through
  GEOSS/USGEO, CEOS, CGMS, WMO mechanisms to
  further Research to Operations efforts and
  achieve continuity of key observations/climate
  variables

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Achieving and Maintaining International
Partnerships

• ..work to identify and maintain mutual
  interest..
• ..partners listen to each other and move forward
  together..